Courtesy Edward O. Gourdin Collection in Special Collections at Boston University

Honorable Edward O. Gourdin(18971966)

In 1952, Judge Gourdin was appointed Special Justice of Roxbury District Court by Governor Paul A. Dever. In 1958, Governor Foster Furculo appointed Judge Gourdin as the first African American to serve as Associate Justice of the Massachusetts Superior Court. In addition to his accomplishments on the bench, Judge Gourdin was a world class athlete, holding the world record for the broad jump in 1921, and winning the silver medal for the same event in the 1924 Olympic Games in Paris. Judge Gourdin also served as Brigadier General, United States National Guard.

Courtesy Harvard College Archives

Courtesy Gourdin Collection, Department of Special Collections, Boston University